The "Saure Circle" team consisted of 5 members and was one of the strongest teams in the vicinity. Their team comprised 3 A-Rank hunters and 2 B-Rank hunters. Among them, the Witch, Knight, and Heavy Armored were A-Rank, while the Scout and Healer were B-Rank.
"Refea, leave some for me!" The Heavy Armored hunter grumbled lightly. Simple breakfast quarrels were normal for them, part of their morning routine.
"But the breakfast here is so good!" The Healer spoke with a gleam in her eyes, her mouth full.
Refea, the Healer, often worked alongside the Heavy Armored hunter during missions, supporting them with basic attack spells and mostly enhancement and healing spells.
"Where's Addon? Don't you all share the same room?" Arie asked with curious eyes.
Arie was the one who assembled the "Saure Circle" team. He had a cheerful and lively nature, without anything particularly special about him. He was relatively subdued compared to the other members.
"Are you not listening to me? I asked you a question! Hey, Broed, Rafea!" Arie grew annoyed when he realized his question was being ignored.
Broed was the Heavy Armored hunter, successful in his hunting career but quite indifferent when it came to matters outside work.
"Arie, Cloe, good morning." Addon slowly sat down at the breakfast table. His expression was as usual.
Unlike the others, Addon had a troubled past. He had lost his previous team and brother during a dungeon raid.
He had come to the east seeking a quieter life, and when he crossed paths with Arie, Arie managed to change his mind.
"If you've finished eating, let's complete the mission." Cloe spoke with an air of self-assuredness.
Cloe had worked with Arie a few times before. She was the most unfamiliar member of the group and usually spent her time alone.
She was introverted and greedy, showing a strong interest in treasures and jewels. For her, personal gain always took precedence.
This wasn't unjustified, as forming strong attachments within a hunting team could often lead to death.
A few minutes later, they set off outside the city.
"Don't forget, we'll observe first," Addon reminded them repeatedly throughout the journey. The underlying unease was slowly gnawing at him.
When they reached a hill from where they could see the mountain, they stopped and began observing it.
"Aren't they moving too fast? Is it normal for them to move this quickly?" Arie was surprised by their rapid movements.
"They might have a speed-type ability or an item enhancing their speed," Rafea suggested her own idea.
In fact, she wasn't entirely wrong; there was an ability that sped up time in the mountain.
"Addon, you should look over here," Broed pointed to the blood and torn clothing on the rocks.
"Could this be related to the incident on the mountain? There's more blood here." Broed spoke as he continued searching for more clues.
Addon continued to examine the surroundings. There were 15 different spots with traces of blood. There were no bodies, but the blood was undoubtedly human. Addon couldn't make sense of the situation.
The absence of bodies could be due to several possibilities. The blood traces could belong to bandits, merchants, or hunters.
The villagers in the city had requested help from the Hunter's Guild for dealing with bandits, but no one had accepted such missions. That's because what hunters truly needed was Taae.
So, the blood might not necessarily belong to bandits.
The only remaining possibility was that this situation might be related to the incident on the mountain, and the hunters were aware of that.
"Why are monsters building a wall? I've never heard of such a thing before," Cloe exclaimed with a puzzled expression.
"I think it looks more like a fortress than a wall," Arie's analogy was definitely more accurate.
"There should be a dungeon nearby. We'll search for the entrance. Once we find it, we'll request backup and enter the dungeon." Addon, the most experienced, largest, and strongest member of the team, made most of the decisions.
Their reason for searching for the dungeon entrance was to eliminate the dungeon and solve the problem at its root.
They slowly moved away from their current location to explore the mountain's surroundings.
"If we keep searching like this, we'll find the entrance in 30 years, if we're lucky," Rafea complained about the continuous walking.
"Does anyone have a better idea?" Addon, tired of Rafea's complaining, asked in an irritated tone.
"Maybe we could use a mana compass to locate it, but we don't have such a device," Cloe said, tired of aimless walking.
"I have a mana stone. It makes absorbing mana from the outside easier. It can also detect mana density. Would that help?" Rafea's eyes were searching for a glimmer of hope.
"I suppose so. Follow me." Cloe picked up the stone.
"You should've mentioned things like this earlier," Broed complained, feeling more tired than the others due to his heavy armor.
An hour later, they had located the dungeon's entrance.
"Let's take a break, please!" Broed threw himself under a tree and sat down.
"We can head back. We've found the entrance. We'll handle the rest with backup. But first, let's take a break." Addon leaned against a rock, taking a sip of his water.
"I think we should enter the first floor while we're here. Besides, if we involve others, we'll have to split the reward." Cloe had started persuading the others.
"Let's just take a look at the first floor. If we struggle there, we can retreat. It seems to be a new dungeon. Besides, if it's as we suspect, most of the strong monsters from the dungeon are near Tokki Mountain." Cloe was pushing her luck. She needed to convince the team, especially Addon. But persuading him seemed nearly impossible.
"Captain, I think we should try our luck. If we check the entrance to the dungeon, it probably formed 1-2 weeks ago. Plus, if we can obtain a Dungeon Crystal, we could become rich. I believe we should definitely give it a shot." Rafea also supported Cloe.
Everyone was slowly warming up to the idea of "trying their luck." Greed had taken over.
Everyone was trying to persuade Addon. However, Addon was determined to listen to his inner voice.
"Then you wait here; we will go check the first floor," Cloe's idea was spreading like a virus.
In the end, everyone except Addon had decided to enter the first floor together.